Method of and apparatus for separating solids from gas.



i R. C. NEWHOUSE. METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING SOLIDS FROMGAS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 29| TS1-5- 1,168,548, Paten-@d Jan. 18,1916.

5%./1 A y D@ i JZ Cewozw@ To allwhom t may concern:

. sTnTns PATENT orricn.

RAY NEWHOUSE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIG-NOR TO ALLIS-CHALMEBSMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented I an. 1S, 1916.

Application led April 29, 1915. Serial No. 25,328.

Be it known that I, RAY C. NnWHoUse, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, has invented a certain -new and useful Improvement in Methodsof and Apparatus for Separating Solids from Gas, of which the followingis a speciication. v

This invention relates to improvements in a method of and an apparatusfor removing solids from gases, the inventionbeing particularlyapplicable to thatl class of devices known as dust collectors.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of removing solids,such as dust, from a gas, such as air, which is simple and eficient inits operation.

Another object is to provide a simple and effective apparatus forcarrying on the method. p I

It has heretofore been proposed, in the art of dust collecting, toremove the dust from the air by means of a plurality of lter bags madeof fabric, and to cleanthe dust laden bags by periodically shaking thesame by means of mechanical devices. In one form of device of the priorart, the dust was deposited upon the filter bags while the same werestretched, and vwas removed therefrom by a periodic gradual slackeningor releasing of the 'stretched bags and a sudden rcstretching of the.s'ame. In this form of apparatus it was found to be impossible duringthe cleaning operation to remove the particles of dust which had lodgedbetween the meshes ofthe stretched bags during the still more collectingperiod. `An advance in the art was to permit the bags to remain inslacked position. during the collecting operation and to periodicallysimultaneously reverse the flow of air through the lters andsuccessively gradually stretch and suddenly re-` lease the bags in orderto clean the same. While this form of apparatus facilitate-.l cleaningof the bags, it has been found to be desirable to` maintain the filterbags slackened during the collecting opera.

` il tionand to suddenlystretch and gradually i. to.

`vfthe ow'f' of "gas therethrough is being rerelease the bags duringcleaning and while Y 'Ihislatter method of operation,

which -isagfeature of the present invention,

".embodies` the good features of both of the ably vmade common abovedescribed methods of the prior art and eliminates thel objectionablefeatures thereof. y

Alclcar conception of an embodiment of the invention may be had byreferring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of thespecification in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts in the various views.

Figure l is a fragmentary enlarged sec-4 tional 'view of a dustcollector and the bag cleaning mechanism thereof. Fig. 2 is adiagrammatic fragmentary sectional view of a dust collector showing thefilter bags slackened during` the collecting operation. Fig. 3 is adiagrammatic fragmentary sectional view of a dust collector showing thefilter bags stretched during the cleaning op eration.' Fig. 4: is adiagrammatic fragmentary sectional view of .a dustcollector showing thelilter bags slacliened during the f cleaning operation.

The ordinarydust collector of the bag-- k,formed of a special fabric,are housed within a suitable casing 2, being, suspended within saidcasing by means of suspension cross rods 8. The lower extremities of thebagsare open, thus establishing free communication between the interiorof the bags l and the lower portion of the casing 2. The casing 2 isprovided with an inlet 3, and a dust discharge outlet 5 at the lower endthereof. K

The chamber below the bags l is prefer to all compartments Vof the dustcollector, and the inlet 3 is preferably sodirected that the dust ladenair,

in order to enter the bags l, must change its direction of How abruptlyso that the heavier vparticles of dust will be precipitated by gravitydirectly into the dust discharge 5 without first entering the bags 1.

The upper end of the casing 2 is provided with a discharge outlet4'which communicates with a suitable suction apparatus, such as a fan,not shown, and communication between which and the interior of thecasing 2 is controllable by means of a gate 6. With the gate 6 in theposition shown casing 2.

in'Figs. 1 and 2, the air discharge 4 communicates directly with theinterior of the Wfith the gate 6 in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4,the interior of the casing 2 communicates directly with the atmosphere.

The suspension crossrod 8 is connected by i means of a verticallydisposed connecting The shaftA 24 is rotatable by means'ofl a driyingelement 19 and is preferably provided with a cam l0 corresponding toeach of the several sets of bags.

The lever 9 is connected by means of an eye-'bolt 21, an adjusting nut20, and a helical spring 11, with an end of one of the arms of the bellcrank 12. The bell crank 12 is pivoted on the stationary frame by meansof a pivot 17 and is normally held against the stationary stop 14 bymthe bags l acting through the connecting rod 7, lever 9, eyebolt 21 andspring 11. The arm 15 of the 'bell crank 12 is connected with aprojecting portion of the gate 6 by means of an adjustable connectingrod 16.

The shaft 25 which is mounted in bearings in the stationary frame, isprovided with a `plurality of ca'm members 13, one for each set of bags,which are slowly rotatable and engageable with projecting portions ofthe adjacent bell cranks 12. The cam members 23, so as to alter thedegree of engagement ofthe cam members with the bell cranks 12. Theshaft 25 is slowly rotatable by means of 'a'. driving element 18 whichcoperates with a. driving element 26.secured tothe shaft 24. Inpractice, the shaft 24 is preferably rotated at a much higher rate thanthat of the shaft 25, the approximate rate of the latter shaftbeingabout one revolution every fourI or i've minutes.

f During the normal operation of the device and particularly during thedust collecting period, the dust laden air is drawn into the casing 2bymeans` of the suction fan, enter ing this casing through the inletopening 3 and passing upwardly through the filter bags 1, the purifiedair being discharged from the casing 2 throug the air discharge 4.During this period o collection, the cam member 13 is out of engagementwith the bell crank 12 ,and the lobes of the cam 10 do not come incontact with the end of thelever 9. As the cam member 13 approaches theposition disclosed in Figs. 3 and 4, the bell crank 12 is swung in ananticlockwise direction out of engagement with the Stop 14 and into theposition shown in Fig. 3. The movement ofthe bell crank 12 causes thesame to act through the spring 11 and eyebolt 21' to swing the lever 9in a similar direction. r, This movement of the lever 9 causes the endthereof to which the bags'l are attached, to move upwardly,simultane ingthe longitudinal threads thereof under tension. The bell crank 12 inmoving away from the stop 14 also acts through the arm 15 and connectingrod 16 to swing the gate 6 from the position shown in Fig. 2' to thatshown lin Fig. 3, thereby cutting'off conimunication to thefan andestablishing communicatlon directly between the interior of the casing 2and theV atmosphere. As the gate 6 assumes the position shown in Fig. 3,the suction vor slightly reduced pressure created in the space beneaththe bags 1 due to' the flow of air-I into the adjacent compartments,causes a counter flow of air from the atmosphere into the casing 2, pastthe gate J6 and through the dust laden bags 1, ithus tending to loosenthe dust particles. I.As the cam 10 revolves it engages the adjacentfree end of the lever 9 and successively gradually slackens the bags asdisclosed in Fig. 4, and permits sudden restretching of the same bymeans of the spring 11, as disclosed in Fig. '3, This successive actionon the filter bags 1 causes the dust to be effectively shaken fromtheinteriorf'surfaces thereof and to drop by 13 are adjustable by means ofset screws 22,

'gravity intothe dust discharge opening 5 from which it may be withdrawnas desired.

It will'be noted that by maintaining the bags in slackened conditionduring the collecting operation, the dust particles will not ,"ouslycausing the opposite free end to move ios be permitted to lodge in themeshes of the fabric as in the devices of the prior art. The provisionof a counter ow .of air during the cleaning operation, togetherl withthe successive gradual slackening and sudden stretching of the bagsduring -the cleaning operation, produces effective cleaning of the ingoperation. l ,f

It will be understood that it is not desired to be limited to the. exactdetails of construction shown and described, for obvious modilfabricpreparatory tothe following collect-A j cations will occur to a personskilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent,

l. The method of separating solids and gas which comprises, passing themixture of solids and gas through a loosely suspended fabric filter, andremoving the solids from said filter by periodically successivelysuddenly stretching and gradually reslackening said lter.

2. The method of separating solids and gas which comprises, passingthemixture of solids and gasthrough a loosely suspended. fabric filter,periodically reversing the flow of gas through said filter, andsuccessively suddenly stretching and gradually reslackening said iilterduring said period of reversed flow.

3. The method 'of separating dust from air which comprises, looselysuspending a fabric bag with its lower end open, passing the dustladenair successively through said lower open end and through the sides ofsaid bag, periodically reversing the' flow of air through said bag, andsuccessively suddenly stretching and gradually reslackening air throughsaid lter, means for periodically reversing the flow of air through saidfilter, and means for successively suddenly stretching and graduallyreslaclening said lter durlng said period of reversed flow.

` 6. In combination, 'a plurality of normally loosely suspended filterbags, means for inducing a flow of air through said bags, means forperiodically simultaneously cutting olf said iow and inducing a reverseow through said bags, and means for succes-v sively suddenly stretchingand gradually reslackening said bags during periods of re-' versed ow.,U

In testimon whereof, the slgnature ofthe inventor is a ed hereto.

RAWv C. NEWHOUSE.

